Trump Administration Moves To Shield Farmers And Ranchers From ‘Weaponized’ Lawfare

Key Facts

Published: July 2, 2026 Location: Washington D.C. Source: Daily Wire

• The USDA and SBA are announcing a new agreement to combat regulatory and legal actions viewed as weaponized against farmers, ranchers, and small businesses.
• Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins cited the South Dakota Maude ranching case as an example of government overreach that financially devastated a family farm.

USDA and SBA announce new partnership aimed at protecting rural America from regulatory abuse, activist litigation, and government overreach.

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to confront what officials describe as years of “weaponized” lawfare against American farmers, ranchers, and small businesses, with the Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration set to announce a new agreement Thursday aimed at protecting rural America from regulatory abuse.

The memorandum of understanding between the USDA and SBA is designed to combat what the administration calls abusive government overreach, particularly cases in which farmers and ranchers have faced severe penalties, costly litigation, or the loss of generational land amid environmental enforcement actions and activist pressure.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the agreement builds on Pillar 4 of the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework by creating what she described as a “government-wide shield against lawfare.”

Rollins and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said farmers and ranchers have increasingly found themselves targeted by radical environmental organizations, activist groups, and government agencies, sometimes facing massive fines, grazing restrictions, and pressure to surrender or sell land that has been in their families for generations.

“This is a really, really important issue for rural America, for farmers and ranchers,” Rollins told The Daily Wire, arguing that government at every level has, over time, taken aim at agricultural land, ranching operations, and small businesses.

Rollins pointed specifically to the case of Charles and Heather Maude, fifth-generation South Dakota ranchers who were indicted under the Biden Justice Department on felony charges tied to a fence dispute involving government property. The couple faced up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines each, while a judge restricted them from discussing the case with one another and required them to hire separate attorneys.

The charges were dropped in April 2025 under the Trump administration, but Rollins said the legal ordeal left the Maudes financially devastated.

“They were bankrupted, basically, because of their legal fees,” Rollins said, calling the case a warning sign of a government that had grown “too big and too weaponized.”

Loeffler said the MOU formalizes work she and Rollins have been doing informally for more than a year: defending what she called “America’s original small business,” the family farm.

She noted that while nearly all Americans were once involved in farming, only a small share of the population now works the land directly, making today’s farmers and ranchers more vulnerable to regulatory pressure, activist campaigns, and legal intimidation.

The USDA-SBA partnership is expected to mobilize federal support behind farmers, ranchers, and small businesses that officials say have been left to stand alone against powerful agencies and activist-backed litigation.

The announcement is scheduled to include Rollins, Loeffler, Special Envoy for American Ranchers John Rich, Bureau of Land Management Director Stevan Pearce, Rep. Harriet Hageman, Rep. Eli Crane, and agricultural producers and ranchers.

For many in rural America, the move represents more than a regulatory correction. It is a defense of private property, family inheritance, and the God-given calling to steward the land.

Farmers and ranchers have long carried the burden of feeding the nation, often with little recognition and increasing pressure from Washington. The Trump administration’s new effort signals that, at least for now, the federal government intends to stand with those who work the soil rather than against them.

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